First Riding Lesson

I had my first riding lesson with Brig today. It went really well. The instructor really seemed to like him. She was quite impressed with his walk and his trot. His canter is okay but not great. He doesn't bend his legs as much as would be preferred for a dressage horse. She said his canter is more of a hunter type canter. But that's okay. I feel great that she was so impressed with his walk and trot. The lady that gave me the lesson is the one that I was working for as a groom for a while earlier this year. I found out that she is in Pitt Meadows every other week teaching and so I called her to see if I could get a lesson while she is here. The main thing that I learned from her today is that Brig is only 3. Of course I know that he's 3 but I've been expecting more from him than I really should at this point. She basically told me not to do too much with him but to make sure that what I do do is quality. She gave me some help with the problems that I've been having and I was glad to find out that a lot of the things that I've been doing were basically the right idea. I now have a couple new things to work on and I think that I will have a lot more patience and tolerance for the times when things don't go as well as I would like. I have a better idea of when to discipline and what to discipline for as well as when I should just try to keep him calm and relaxed or try to keep him distracted.
I have pretty much decided to move Brig to another stable. I need a larger riding arena and I have found a place that isn't too expensive. They would like to turn Brig out with all the rest of the horses as well, even though I told them how aggressive he is. I don't think that she really understands how aggressive he is but if they want to take the chance I don't mind. So, hopefully this place will work out. I won't be close to the trails like I am now but I think that there are dykes near by that I can ride on. The road seems pretty quiet too but he's not scared of cars anyway. I think that I will spend the next couple of weeks here taking him on trails and trying to get him used to the river, as well as doing some jumping. I don't think that there are any jumps at the new barn. It will be nice to be at a barn where there are more people too. I get lonely when I go to the place that Brig is at now because there is rarely anyone to talk to.